By Ian Rapoport
Staff Writer
As Winter comes to a close, Spring athletes prepare for the upcoming season.
Boys volleyball is returning from one of its best seasons in Costa history. Last season the team ended up winning CIF championships and was ranked first place in California and second place in the nation.
“It’s exciting but of course there’s a ton of pressure especially because we have the target on our backs,” senior Riley Mallon said. “Going into season ranked number one in the nation is always great, but technically we haven’t earned that position yet. All the guys on the team, being the close friends we are, all know that it’s going to take the entire team and not just the six guys on the court and that’s what I think is going to set us apart from the other competitive teams.”
As for baseball, the boys team has been significantly hindered due to allegations over the coaching of coach Cassidy Olson. As of now his presence as a coach is extremely limited and he will be returning March 25. As for the girls, the softball team made it to the quarter-finals last year but lost seven seniors after the season which is a major concern as this problem kept the team from excelling to CIF in past seasons.
“We have a lot of inexperience to overcome,” coach Dick Amberick said. “Our March schedule is brutal as far as opponents are concern. We will see how much effort players put into their preparation between September and January to see if this team can achieve a winning season. It’s going to be challenging.”
In lacrosse, the girls made it to state finals in the previous season and is losing very few of its players. The boys team has recently received a new coach, Andrew Kasimir, who plays for the Los Angeles professional lacrosse team.
“He has been taking our team in a new direction,” junior Artie Dossik said. “He has been getting us into shape and were hoping to have a good season.”
The girls swim team is returning from last season in which they placed tenth in CIF and second in Bay League, the teams all-time best. The boys team placed third in Bay League and overall the team broke four school records, which happens to be low in comparison to other season where the team would break over ten.
“This year, the guys team is going to unstoppable, maybe the best in history of Costa,” coach Dan Bartlett said. “I expect a lot of records to fall. We have some very mature seniors that are good, and some very young and talented freshmen.”
The boys golf team ended the previous season second in CIF. They were disappointed to not place in the top ten for Southern California Team Championships. Multiple athletes were able to make it CIF individuals though.
“This year we’re talking better, but as with every season you need to find out what you’re actually capable of,” head coach Timberlake said. “Hopefully we will be able to back up what we are thinking, because we think we are a much better team. We think we can win league. We like to think we have a chance to CIF divisionals then go further down the road.”
The boys tennis team is coming from a rather unsuccessful season. They placed third in bay league and lost in the first round of CIF. However, they currently have a undefeated season.
“We only lost one player from last year’s team and we added several highly-ranked freshmen so the team should be much improved from last season,” coach Joe Ciasulli said. “We upgraded our schedule and are hoping to compete for a league championship and a deep run in the CIF playoffs.”
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